Michelle's Asian (though Rachel is not but has the same eyes), so I decided with those set of eyes worked well with her (and the other 2 asian characters in the strip; almond eyes did not look right under this setting :lol!. The boy dont have eyelashes like the girls do.

The comic is on hiatus until I can get a new laptop to draw with it in... meaning old G3 running OS8.

I haven't posted much photoshopped work lately, but for a good reason. I had taken a Digital Art Techniques class and all my photoshopping energy was directed towards it. However, now that I'm done I'm able to post my final project (which recied an A (I never get A's... ). My area of study was cell-shading. Anime-style to be more exact.

But I think this proves how much careful study and practice can GREATLY improve someone's ability.

My final project was a character card for my post-apocalyptic fiction project I've been working on.

I'm most pleased with how the eyes turned out.

Carolyn Gates (Revised - back to thin eyebrows) -

Last edited by rusty-spring on Fri 27 Jun 2008 - 19:41; edited 3 times in total

color is cool. I like what you did. Art with a mouse is tricky at best. Is this your first color piece? If so I'm quite impressed. Especially with the effects you did for the eye. Is that a type of filter, or just a series of lines?

Thanks for all the compliments, this project felt like a milestone in my ability so it's nice to hear that people like it.

@Wileama wrote:color is cool. I like what you did. Art with a mouse is tricky at best. Is this your first color piece? If so I'm quite impressed. Especially with the effects you did for the eye. Is that a type of filter, or just a series of lines?

It's not my first color piece, but definitely my most polished so far. Before I was doing "caveman" style coloring/shading, but now I've learned much more efficient and effective techniques.

As for the eyes, there's lots of things going on in there. A series of lines (like you mentioned), shading/highlighting, and dodging/burning.

This is the first of five character cards I'm doing. One for each principle character (They're all female...like nobody saw THAT one coming...). Unfortunately I don't have a title yet for my long-term project so I can't give it a name yet, however three chapters and a prologue are finished and currently being proof-read.

First off I redesigned the character cards because they were a little lacking last time, and everyone loves fluff information.

What I've done with these new ones is add in Fallout's SPECIAL (First letter of each stat makes up the world "SPECIAL") RPG character creation system. Anyone who's played those games should be familiar with the terms/look/terminology. If not, feel free to check out this wiki page for more information on traits, skills, stats, etc.

Before anyone who knows the SPECIAL system mentions it, I know they don't have "awesome stats." This isn't for powergaming, but for story's sake.

That out of the way here's the newest character card (she should look familiar, I had a WIP sketch of her up before...plus her design is based off of Laine's...):Lyssa Eichelhardt -

And here is the redone Carolyn Gates card:

Carolyn Gates -

Only 3 characters left...

Last edited by rusty-spring on Fri 27 Jun 2008 - 19:18; edited 9 times in total

No. 3 out of 5 of the character cards for my fiction project which has now been tentatively titled "Backland Beat." This is the final evolution of the my character card layout. All of the "fluff" information placed first, and then what her stats/abilities would be if she was shoved into a game using the SPECIAL system.

Konae Sayumi

Who's look is inspired by Leah Dizon

Here's the next upcoming project, another picture of Sayumi in a NOT SAFE FOR WORK (probably) pose. Again, NSFW, so don't yell at me if you get in trouble lookin while at work.

For anyone that understands Fallout's SPECIAL rpg system, Sayumi's list of perks and traits would allow her to burst fire guns at only 2 Action Points (At default it normally costs 5 or 6). According to my knowledge, her set-up is legit and is my attempt to explain in game why she can fire two relatively large SMGs "akimbo."

P.S. These pictures were almost completely done on my new Wacom! No more using a mouse for me!

The picture in this one is placed where it occurs in the story - so scroll past the writing to get to the picture if you want.

Buried In Sand Pt. 2

Clayland sprinted to keep up with his partner, who covered the distance between themselves and their quarry like a gazelle.

Turning onto the small side street he saw Laine's HK rifle tossed onto the ground not far from the dead body of one of Al-Nassar's guards. The footsteps in the dirt told him that the battle had moved between into the alleyways.

*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*

The stacatto firing from Laine's pistol led him until he stood in front of a large building.. Pulling out his pistol, Clayland ventured inside cautiously. In greeting was a scene from a slasher movie. Blood painted the walls in sharp lines and messy splotches.

Two lifeless bodies of Al-Nassar's entourage lay frozen in a conjoined pool of blood. One man was disemboweled with his intestines spilt onto the floor while the other had a gaping stab wound in his left temple. More gunshots from further within sent Clayland in motion once again. As the firing weapons grew louder he heard yelling in confused, frantic Arabic. Spent casings from Laine's 9mm trailed like breadcrumbs.

“Not going to miss you this time.”

Clayland finally heard Laine's voice muffle through a nearby wall which was followed by a loud crunching noise. Entering the room the he was forced to step over two more bodies and finally approached the blonde haired assassin, whose back was turned.

“Laine?”

She didn't move as Clayland inspected the scene. There was no life in the room besides himself and his partner. Laine had dispatched the last two guards as grusomely as the first pair. The nearest was pinned to the wall with his AK's barrel shoved through his throat. Fractures snaked out from the point of impact. The last lay dead at his feet with his neck bent at a 90 degree angle and two stab wounds in the chest.

Finally Al-Nassar himself sat crumped on the ground. Clayand saw what had caused his demise while he side-stepped past the cyborg cautiously. Laine was gripping her pistol by the barrel, slide locked back - empty of ammunition, and it's grip covered in blood and brain matter. The blow had caved in his head like a overripe melon. Despite being uninjured (as far as he could tell), Clayland noted that his partner looked the worst by far.

Blood was splattered copiously over her arms and clothing and it had even managed to work its way into her hair. Standing perfectly still, Laine didn't seemed in the least concerned by any of the crimson fluid.

“Hey, you all right?” She didn't respond.

Clayland took a small step forwards and attempted to retrieve the weapons from her hands. His attempt was unsuccessful as she maintained an iron grip on both.

“Give me the gun and the knife.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and felt his fingers slip in the blood. Laine's head lifted and she focused on him, then looked around.

“Again?” She dropped the weapons to the ground.

“Look at yourself. What do you think?.” Laine's savage blood-lust had been exhibiting itself more and more over the past few months, and there was little-to-no reason why.

“Can we get out of here? I'm melting and I need a shower.” She took her left hand and brushed some hair out of face, and in its place left a bloody handprint on her forehead. Unfortunately I've seen surprisingly few Best Westerns around these parts.”

Clayland hated when she did that. Like a coin she would flip back to her moody, smart-assed self after killing in a manner that would make horror movies proud.

He forced a quiet nagging voice back into the corner of his mind and motioned with his arm.

“Yeah...let's get out of here.”

I can honestly say that she's nearly to the point where it wouldn't be out of reach for her to start licking blood off of her knife when she finishes killing.

This picture is in honor of Nachtsider (and also everyone else) who happened to find the color of Laine's underwear to be a fascinating topic.

I made this shortly after Nacht mentioned that an orange tubetop swimsuit would fit her well. I decided to see if there was any merit to the suggestion.

I think she looks all right in one.

However, she's acting rather OOC. I dunno if she'd ever be this carefree. Sure she smiles and laughs, but not often for the sake of just having lots of fun. I guess this is what she'd look like if she wasn't a cyborg and was allowed to grow up as your normal, well-adjusted, teenaged jailbait.

Last edited by rusty-spring on Wed 28 May 2008 - 23:44; edited 2 times in total

@Sakura wrote:Wow, another nice picture. You're great with the details and background.

Lol, please don't praise me on the background. It's just a stock beach photo. All I did was add some gaussian blur to move Laine into the foreground. I am proud of coloring in the hearts on the font I used though. (For some reason the smallest insignificant detail wows me the most.)

@Tommygunner70 wrote:I believe you should get an account at Deviantart.com

I dunno if I've mentioned this here before (I know I said it other places) but I really dislike deviantART.

For one, the layout and upload process is just godawful, but secondly the massive amounts of censorship that goes on there (yeah yeah I know what you're thinking "Censorship? What censorship?" Trust me. It's there.) Finally I believe there's also some fine print that says stuff like how if DA decides to use your art as advertisement for promoting the site, your art is now THEIR art.

Perhaps I'm just blowing things out of proportion and I might use DA someday but for now I'm happy with what I'm doing, which is posting my art in my blog and for you guys (this community really kickstarted my art) here to see.

Perhaps I'm just blowing things out of proportion and I might use DA someday but for now I'm happy with what I'm doing, which is posting my art in my blog and for you guys (this community really kickstarted my art) here to see.

Not to be greedy, but I personally think the art should stay here at best.

Best to keep the best things inside the box than letting others use it for their own good, ne?

@Nachtsider wrote:The thing is, DA protects your rights as creator of the artwork. If people go around stealing your art and claiming that it's theirs, you can thus take proper action against them.

I will concede to that point. If Backland Beat ever makes it out of planning stage, I suppose I would go DA because of the enormity of the work and time that would go into it. That or just get my own webdomain...

@Sakura wrote:Wow, another nice picture. You're great with the details and background.

Lol, please don't praise me on the background. It's just a stock beach photo. All I did was add some gaussian blur to move Laine into the foreground. I am proud of coloring in the hearts on the font I used though. (For some reason the smallest insignificant detail wows me the most.)

Er...sorry about that.

But still, it's awesome how you took a beach photo and blended it nicely with your artwork. And I love those hearts you put on there! It's a cute touch.

Aw that's a harsh thing to say to a girl, lol. Good thing she can't reach through a computer screen. I'd say curvy, but I suppose you're right. She's not a pole.

I think she looks good curvy. I would say real women have curves...but she's not real.

From now on my OC character artwork I guess is going to be posted here.

I've copy/pasted my GSG canon artwork back into the Fanart section. I'm just too bloody busy to go through the pain-in-the-ass it would be to edit out the non-OC artworks, so it's going to stay as is. Just going to add onto it with Laine or Backland Beat artwork.

I greatly resize my pictures when I post them here (for practical and personal reasons) but I always hate how a lot of detail is completely lost.

I really liked how Laine's head/face came along with the last picture but with the reduced size they're just hard to pick out the finer points. So I've decided to share her smile in the full, high resolution version (sans background). As always I like the eye(s) best, and I even paid special detail to the shine on her lower lip which is completely wiped out in the small version.

I wrote this sucker up a while ago after I decided Sandro was scum. Sandro might be acting OOC during it, but this is how I see him. Plus it never stops being fun to write for Laine and her cheeky humor.

Chivalry 2.0

“You mean here?”

The quiet afternoon stroll Clayland was taking was interrupted by voices beyond the next corner.

“Why not?” He cocked his head as he approached the conversation, curious as to it's subject.

“I don't think...” The female's voice was cut off abruptly, and the sound of rustling fabric took it's place. After a few more steps Clayland was able to finally bring the situation into view. Before him stood the second generation Fratello, Sandro and Petrushka. He had her locked into a deep kiss and his hands were roving beneath her skirt. Petra's eyes met Clayland's and she turned a deeper shade of red and tried to push her handler away. “Wait...Sandro...Not now - ”

“Hush...” Sandro leaned in once more as he ignored her feeble resistance. Suddenly he felt his arm being pulled back a firm grip.

“I think that was a 'no' but I could be mistaken.” The stylishly dressed man shook off his hand and fixed his coat's wrinkles.

“Clayland! Sorry didn't see you there.” He smiled and wiped the corner of his mouth.

“I noticed.” Clayland said as he looked disapprovingly at him.

“You can go Petra, I'll catch up with you later.” She fixed her skirt and gave a small, weak smile at Clayland then quietly slipped away from the embarrassing situation. Sandro returned to his conversation after she was out of sight. “She's gorgeous isn't she? But you already know this. After all you've got Laine.” He winked to emphasize his point.

“What's that got to do with it?”

Sandro blinked a few times, then laughed.

“Oh, you almost got me there Clayland! We're in the same boat. Just can't let opportunities pass when you've got such a beautiful girl with you all the time, no? Really makes you want have a taste right?”

Clayland remained silent, hoping he could simply ignore the path their chat was going.

“If I was you I'd be taking every chance I got.”

*THUD*

The force of Sandro's body being shoved into the wall send small vibrations that rattled a nearby table. Clayland had his hands wrapped into the collar of Sandro's coat as he spoke

“Maybe Petra lets you talk like that, but around me keep it in your pants.” At first Sandro's mouth was half-open in surprise, but it soon changed into a sneer.

“Heh. Just what I thought. You're a hypocrite.”

“Excuse me?” Clayland tighten his grip on the coat.

“Don't give me that act. You and I both know how Laine acts around here. She's basically as close to the definition of a cocktease you can get. Tempting the men, goofying around with Petra all the time. How's that any more acceptable than what I do?”

“...” For a minute Sandro's words sunk in deep and Clayland couldn't formulate a response. He let go of Sandro's coat and took a step back. The released man took the opportunity and continued pressing the issue.

“Ah..haha...I see. Just can't put blame on her can you? Well I understand that. She's a pretty choice piece of - ”

*BAM*

“If I fucking hear you say that again, I promise I'll make it my mission to have you crawling around looking for your balls after I've cut them off.” Clayland spat, his expression dark as the last traces of gun powder smoked from the barrel of his gun. The round had impacted the wall high and right of Sandro's head, but just close enough to rain bits of drywall down onto the shoulder of his jacket.

“Only proves my point 'Clay.'” Sandro stood there perfectly calm. Footsteps could be heard clomping down the hallway as the two stared at each other. Jean was the first to appear, followed closely behind by Petra. The redhead upon seeing Clayland's gun instinctively reached towards her own, but was restrained by a look from Jean.

“What in the hell is going on here?” He looked at Sandro, then at Clayland. “Why is your gun drawn?” The British handler looked at Jean, then at his gun. Sandro responded first.

“Sorry Jean. I was just interested in Clayland's sidearm. I asked to see it but I guess I'm just clumsy. I dropped it and it went off.” Jean raised an eyebrow at the story.

“Is that right?”

Sandro smiled and shrugged which made Jean sigh angrily and shake his head. Petra appeared to accept the explanation, and her tension visbly faded away.

“Clayland, you better get your sidearm inspected by the armorer. Sandro, I suggest you rein in those 'butter fingers.'” The eldest Croce brother began to walk away before he turned to speak for a final time. “By the way, you're both going to be paying for the repair work.”

Sandro brushed off the white powder from his shoulder and then dusted his hands off. He took one last amused look at the bullet hole.

“Let's go Petra.” As he walked away, Clayland holstered his weapon and rubbed his temples. By the time he looked back up he saw Laine standing down at the other end of the hallway and it was clear that she had seen the whole situation go down. She walked up to him, looked at the wall, then back.

“Nice shootin' Tex. That there wall won't be gettin' away.”

Her joke didn't break the frown creasing his face.

“How stupid was that?” Clayland asked no one in particular while looking at up at the ceiling.

“Nah, it was kinda sweet in an impulsive, profanity-laced way.” This time she managed to extort a bitter laugh from her partner.

“Exactly what I was going for.”

Laine grinned at his response.

“And to think, women ask where all the gentlemen have gone. I think I'm finally starting to like ya Clay.” She patted him on the shoulder and walked away leisurely, hands in her pockets.

And just like that, the quiet afternoon returned.

Last edited by rusty-spring on Sun 8 Jun 2008 - 19:34; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : typos! TYPOS!)

A raw, chicken scratch concept sketch of Laine in her "undercover" attire. For once she looks somewhat formal, and less sporty. Hair up in a messy bun, blouse with a suit coat, modest heels, and glasses - She's ready for business.

Not sure if I'll keep it as a skirt, or extend it into a full pant-suit yet. What does everyone else think?

She's got that "You amuse me" look on her face, and I think she looks rather good in glasses.

EDIT: Oh and just for emperor, I narrowed down her hips a little. Skinny enough for you?

A "Music Fiction" wherein the premise is you listen to the song I've indicated while you read (I'll provide a link where appropriate). It matches up to my reading speed, but some of you might read faster/slower than I do, so it may not match up perfectly for you.

There is also a fanart for this, but it's pretty involved (and drowning in fanservice, as is the story itself) so it'll be a bit longer until I can post up the corresponding art.

BTW, this story is dedicated to the two gorgeous girls I saw at The Summit, whoever you two are.

"What You Got" is copyright by Colby O'Donis, Konvict Muzik and Interscope Records.

Girls Night Out - Instance 1

“Petra, hurry up!”

“A-alright! I think I'm ready.”

The door opened and out stepped the Russian cyborg. She was wearing a black layered skirt and a cream colored sleeveless blouse. Her feet were propped up in a low pair of open toed heels.

“You look gorgeous Petra!” Priscilla gushed as she turned the corner in order to pick the two girls up. She ran over to her. “You even did your hair.” Indeed, the redhead's hair was done up in a teased style.

“And you look very nice too Laine.” The cheery woman approved. The British girl was dressed in an orange halter-top club dress and a pair of strappy white heels. Naturally Priscilla was proud of how they were dressed, she did pick the outfits herself afterall. She jumped inbetween the two cyborgs and wrapped her arms around them.

“I haven't gone to a club in so long!” Priscilla smiled widely and stretched her arms out in excitement. They were heading to the downtown nightclub Di Facino. It took a bit of convincing, but they finally received permission for their first Girl's Night Out since their arrival. “This is going to be great!”

*****

“Not that great.” Laine said in a bored voice. The thumping European techno music was lacking the atmosphere she was hoping for.

“It's not too bad.” Petra said turning towards her, her feet and hands tapping along with the music. Priscilla apparently agreed.

The member of SWA's support staff was having the time of her life on the dance floor. Laine knew all of the moves as she counted them off in her mind.

The shopping cart. The sprinkler. The chicken wing. The robot?

“Oh god...” Laine groaned as she covered her eyes, trying to save her brain from the visual torture. All around Priscilla was an empty ring of space, but not from awed spectators, but rather from fear. Pris grinned broadly and went into her second rendition of the Macarena. “I can't take it anymore.”

“Where are you going Laine?” Petra yelled out after her as Laine slid off of her barstool and over towards the DJ's booth.

Laine sashayed up to the club's DJ and whispered in his ear. The DJ shook his head and shrugged, indicating that he didn't have the song. She sighed and pulled her iPod out of her dress, then hooked it up to the mixer by USB cable. After selecting the music she wanted she winked at the DJ and quickly flitted back down to the dance floor while dragging Priscilla off of it.

Within seconds, the club was filled with a dance beat and the strobe lights began a programed show to match. After sitting Priscilla down to have her second Long Island Ice Tea, Laine grabbed Petra's hand and pulled her into the center of the lit floor. The blocked surface began lighting up with white pulses. Tepidly, everyone else in the club slowly began to absorb the rhythm of the unfamiliar song and began moving in accordance.

The blonde cyborg's dance started slow and rhythmically while she held Petra's arms in her hands, trying to lead her into the same movements. Petra began blushing as she stood there awkwardly, merely being pulled along like a marionette.

“I peeped you on the phone Just showin' off ya stones And notice that that pinky ring is bright enough baby“

Laine frowned a little and quickly jerked her closer.

“C'mon, loosen up. I'm trying to make us the center of attention.” She smirked and put space between them again. Leading her movements again, Petra slowly began to move in sync with what her friend was doing. “Thata girl!” Laine approved. As the song began to move into it's hook, Laine felt satisfied enough to let go of Petra's arms and let her move on her own.

“And I like the way you take advantage of Every man you love I see, and I know your game girl But I don't mind if ya come and play ya thug Just don't talk too much I see, you're so cute you don't have to say a word...“

The house lights illumated the dance floor bit by bit as they swirled and spun. For brief moments faces and various outfits were lit up. By now the entire club had warmed up to the American song and were dancing with enthusiasm. After a brief moment of hesitation from her now solo state, Petra's embarassment lessed as she began to instinctively pick up on the syncopated beats. Finally she and Laine were finding harmony in their dancing, complimenting each other.

“Always talkin' bout what you gotAlways talkin' bout what you gotAlways talkin' bout what you gotGirl you know that you need to stop”

Soon the song entered it's second verse and Petra moved up closer to Laine until only inches separated them.

“Girl I can tell you want something to love That's why you hold on to everything that pass you by Can't resist girl and I can't lieNow tell if you are here for me Or everybody watchin' you shake from left to right The way you move got me hypnotized”

Both surprised and amused by Petra's sudden confidence, Laine playfully stuck her tongue out from between her grinning teeth. She turned around, pressed back against her and wrapped the redhead's hands around her stomach.

Just as Laine had wanted, more and more glances were being tossed their way as they moved against each other, the song's bass beat flowing through their bodies. As the second chorus came around, their positions changed smoothly, with Petra now turning to lean back into Laine.

“Yeah those guys wanna come treat ya right Cause you're sweeter than apple pie Everything that you want you got Girl you know that you need to stop Most beautiful thing in sight Always takin' on the spotlight Always in the club lookin hot Girl you know that you need to stop”

Petra's eyes were closed as she swayed her body, head leaned back. She felt a sudden pressure on her chest and noticed that a man in front of her was dancing up against her. As she froze up, Laine realized that Petra had stopped dancing and leaned her head sideways to look over Petra's shoulder. The sub-zero glare that Laine shot from her eyes was enough to make the man decide to look for another dance partner. He once again melted into the crowd, left to watch in frustrated disappointment with every other man in the room.

Laine grinned inwardly as she prodded Petra to resume dancing. Men were so easy to ruffle. The two resumed dancing against each other. A light sheen of perspiration covered them as the heat of the club's lights and from their dancing took its toll.

They continued to dance through the entire song, switching who was leaning into who or face-to-face. As the final chorus faded out, ending the song, the two peeled their bodies away from each other and laughed. The music changed back into the usual European techno affair as Priscilla bounced down drunkly from the DJ booth. She handed Laine her iPod and stared at them for a minute.

Finally Priscilla spoke.

“That was fucking HOT!”

Petra's eyes went wide and Laine nonchalantly slipped her iPod into the front of her dress. Priscilla continued.

“I mean it. If I was a little more drunk I'd totally be all over you two like a hobo on a ham! I'm totally putting this on the internet!” She said waving her camera phone.

With that, Priscilla jumped back onto the dance floor to once again display her dancing prowess.

NOTE: Laine's not a lesbian. Just a massive, massive uber tease.

Last edited by rusty-spring on Wed 18 Jun 2008 - 10:47; edited 5 times in total

Sketched this while sitting at the auto shop, waiting my turn for service. It's Laine wearing the "badass" coat, sporting some 'tude.

Getting so caught up in photoshop w/ tablet made me forget just how nice simple paper and pencil is. Digital art may be cleaner and capable of more SFX, but a good old pencil and sketch pad is where home is.